Kevin Pietersen steps up his bid for unlikely England recall

Kevin Pietersen has claimed for the second time in 24 hours that he might be recalled to the England team.

Pietersen is preparing for the Indian Premier League, in which he will captain Delhi Daredevils, following his sacking by England two months ago.

There seems little chance of a comeback while Alastair Cook is England Test captain but after saying yesterday that he still hoped to reach 10,000 Test runs (Pietersen has 8,181), the 33-year-old was more explicit today.

In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Pietersen said: “I thought my time was up when things happened in January but I’ve loved playing cricket and I’m still hopeful of playing again for England one day.

“I’m going to do everything I can to play to the best of my ability for the teams I play for and enjoy cricket. I want to continue playing a lot of cricket because I love the game and I want to give dressing rooms around the world the knowledge I’ve acquired. You never stop learning, no matter how many games you’ve played.

“As captain of Delhi, it’s about managing players in a way that everyone feels able to play their natural game. You create an environment where guys can express themselves, where they want to improve. That’s all we can ask for. My mindset has changed a hell of a lot. When I was made captain of England in 2008 (Pietersen was dismissed in January 2009) there were lots of things I hadn’t been through.

“Only when you reach certain highs and lows do you start to understand everyone and everything.

“Understanding people, managing people and getting to grips with how everyone is feeling over the six to eight-week period of the IPL is vitally important. You have to make sure everyone is happy and fighting for one result.

“That comes with all the players and coaches buying in together to what we want to do. We can all learn from each other and have a really good time if we all buy in.”

This edition of the IPL begins under controversial circumstances. The Indian Supreme Court has been investigating allegations of corruption in the lucrative Twenty20 franchise event, and asked Narayanaswami Srinivasan to step aside from his position as chairman of the Indian cricket board to ensure a fair hearing.

Pietersen added: “When you play cricket you have some incredible highs and we don’t want those good days affected by bad eggs.

“You hope that people aren’t putting a black line through days that you spend enjoying yourself and having fun. We can’t get involved in the nonsense that goes on away from the cricket field. We have to be honest with each other and give our best.”